Ark Mafia (Bellarke) Clarke's Story
by JulietLiving
Summary: Clarke has just moved to Arkville to get away from their past. Her dad's in prison and she's stuck in a small town with two stop lights. Bellamy is stuck in a life that he never wanted. He only stays in this small town to keep his past in the past. What will happen when two people who are hiding their true selves find each other? Clarke's POV.
1. Late Nights and Friends

"Do you want a refill, baby?" Indra, the waitress at the diner asks me.

"No thanks. I think I better head home. I'll see you tomorrow." I grab the book I've been reading all night and gently tuck it into my backpack. My laptop that's sitting on the table next to my empty mug and crumb covered plate is blinking at me with a silent alarm. It's 5:00 am. My mom will be getting home in thirty minutes. That's just enough time for me to jog home and beat her there. I slap my computer closed and shove it in my bag along with my homework.

"Thanks again for the coffee and the cinnamon roll was delicious." I tell Indra as I walk to the door.

"Anytime, baby." She waves me off.

My converse covered feet slap against the sidewalk as I start to run home. I hear a car driving up so I duck into the alley between the ice cream shop and hardware store. I lean out just enough to peer at the car. _Mom?_ I look at my watch, the one that my dad gave me the night before he got arrested. 5:04. _She's early._ I take off sprinting behind the stores and houses on my way to our tiny house. Because I'm cutting through yards I get there just after my mom's car pulls into the driveway.

I watch her go inside and then sneak up to the house. I take a peek inside and see her in the kitchen. If this were our old house I could climb the tree and jump in through the second story window, but here's there's only one floor. She's pulling eggs out of the fridge. I know that she's making breakfast for me before I go to school. It's my first day at the new school. I decide to just bite the bullet and walk inside. First though I drop my bag on the side of the porch, tie my hair up in a ponytail and pull off my shirt so that I'm in a tank top and my yoga pants. I'm glad I wore those today.

I take a breath and then open the door. "Hey, Mom. How was work?"

"It was great, sweetie. And how did you sl-" She snaps her mouth shut when she turns to see me coming in the front door. She gives me a glare that reminds me of our old selves. She looks like the wife of the mob boss rather than the small town doctor that she's pretending to be.

"Where have you been?" She asks me after setting down the eggs and turning completely to face me. Her hands are on her small hips.

"I was out for a run." I motion to my clothes and give her a look of contempt. Ever since my dad got arrested we've been walking on thin ice.

"You know that I don't like you out on your own." She gives me a disapproving sigh.

"Mom, I'm almost eighteen and we're in a nowhere town. I'm fine. Plus, I always have my good friends with me." I slip the knife out of my back pocket and show her. I then reach down to take my shoes off and pull out the knife from my sock. Sure it's not actually a great place to keep it, but when I have no pockets it works.

"I still don't like it. Maybe I should try harder to get the day shift." She says and I can see the wheels start to turn in her mind. I can't imagine actually having to be around her for more than the couple of hours we're home together. It's hard enough already.

**A/N If you want Bellamy's POV I have the same story just from his POV. Hope you enjoy both of them!**


	2. No!

"No, Mom. We both know that you do better with this shift. Plus, I have the anklet on so if I were ever in trouble help would be there in less than five minutes." I pull down my other sock to show her my ankle monitor. When my dad got arrested I didn't take it well and ended up getting in some big trouble. They made a deal with my mom and me that if we moved away from the area, cut all ties, and cleaned up our act then they'd let me out on parole instead of sending me to juvie or worse.

I would have rather taken the time, but my mom didn't want to lose both of us so she took the deal. That was five weeks ago. We've been here for just under a month. It took some time for us to get my records here so I've been doing a sort of home schooling through the school here. It's so easy that I could so the work in my sleep, if I could sleep that is. Ever since we got here I've been sleeping just a couple of hours a night if I sleep at all. Then I would go out and explore. Sure, this town is tiny and there really is nothing but I have seen on the outskirts of town that there is a bit of a nightlife.

So far I've stayed clear of it because I know if I get caught anywhere near something illegal then I'll be locked up. No second chances. No excuses. That's why I was happy when I found the diner that's always open. It struck me as odd for such a small town to have a twenty-four hour place but there is a steady stream of people constantly. I have been going there every night since I found it. I love it there especially just before 5:00 when that guy comes in.

I've heard Indra call him Bellamy once. He has dark hair that's just long enough to curl. It always looks messy like he's just gotten out of bed. I want to run my fingers through it. I've dreamed of doing just that in fact. Then his eyes; they're warm like mocha. They look kind even when he scowls. I can tell that he's more dangerous than kind though. He always has on a black leather jacket, black boots, and jeans. When he gets on his motorcycle all I can think is that I wonder what it would be like to be on the back of it with my arms wrapped around him. Would he be a cautious driver? No, he'd be fun.

"Clarke, you better hurry and get in the shower. You have to leave soon or you'll be late. And make sure you leave those _friends _here." My mom's voice pulls me out of my daydreaming. When she says friends she points to the knives that I'm holding.

I look down at them and chuck them at the wall without looking. I hear them slam into the dart board that I have hanging on the wall. I don't have to look to know that they hit the bullseye.


	3. Welcome to Arkville

I get to the school just in time to meet with the principal. Because of my particular situation I have to meet with him once a week to go over things. He will relay how our meeting goes back to my parole officer. If he doesn't like me then I'm screwed which is why I need to make a good impression. I try to go in the main entrance and find it locked so I knock on the door but no one is around.

See not even teachers want to be at school this freaking early. I groan and walk around trying to find another door that's unlocked. I finally find a small side door that's unlocked and step inside. It looks just like a normal school. I don't know why I was expecting something different but I was. Maybe it has to do with the weirdness of this town like the diner that's always open even though it's such a small community.

I walk down the hall trying to find the office, but since I came in a different door I'm turned around. Up ahead I see a tall man with dark curly hair. Is that the guy from the diner? Bellamy? Does he go here? I start to walk faster and when I get to him I freeze. Ask him where the office is. Don't stand there staring like an idiot. I yell at myself.

"Excuse me, do you know where the office is?" I ask in a surprisingly strong voice and smile up at him.

He clears his throat and I'm glad to see that I'm not the only one struggling. "It's just down the hall. Take the first right."

"Thank you, Bellamy." I say before walking off in the direction that he pointed.

He shocks me when he grabs my arm. My hand flies to my back pocket where my _friend _is. If he tries anything I can have his throat slit before he can say sorry.

"How do you know my name?" He asks in a low voice.

Oh, gosh. I used his name didn't I? No wonder he's creeped out.

"The diner. I heard Indra call you that once." I answer.

"Oh, sorry." He says and I pull away from him. "And you are?"

"I'm Clarke." I say and give him a smile that says: please forgive me for being such an idiot. I hold out my hand for him to shake.

"Welcome to Arkville. If you need anything else just let me know. I'll be around." He says while shaking my hand.

"Thank you. I'll see you around."

I walk away from Bellamy while trying not to die from embarrassment. I can't believe I said his name. The way he grabbed my arm and his suspicious expression told me how much it freaked him out. He probably thinks I'm a crazy stalker. Way to go, idiot!

I keep my shoulders tall and back straight. You should never show weakness to others. Of course on the inside you can fall apart as much as you want. I look back out of the corner of my eye and see him watching me. I'm too busy scolding myself and watching Bellamy so I don't notice the boy directly in front of me until we've bumped into each other.

"Oh my gosh. I'm so sorry." I stutter at the boy as he just laughs. His laugh at least isn't a mocking laugh; it's more of a I'm laughing with you laugh.

"It's all good. You must be Clarke. I'm Finn." He says in a kind voice full of laughter.

"You know who I am because I ran into you?" I ask as my always ready temper tries to boil over.

"No. I know who you are because you're the only new person we've had in over three years." He says in a matter of fact voice.

"Right. I do remember hearing something about not many new people in the area. Of course it makes sense. Who chooses to move to a middle of nowhere, hick town?" I ask

"Ouch." He grips his chest in mock pain. "That hurts, K."

"K?" I ask with a smile breaking across my face. Maybe this place won't be too bad.

"I hope you don't mind. It's just that Clarke is so… I don't know. _Hicktown?_" He winks.

"Says the boy named Finn."

"Hey, I'm a man. I turned eighteen last month." He says and puffs out his chest.

"Oh my apologies, sir." I curtsy to him.

"That's more like it. Now, how about I give you the tour?" He waves his hand towards the direction that I just came from.

"Maybe later, but for now I have to go meet with Principal Jaha. Thank you though." I go to step around Finn but he places his hand on my arm. His touch doesn't feel near as good as Bellamy's did.

"I already talked to him. He had a meeting come up and asked if I'd take you under my wing. I agreed, but only after making sure you were cute." He winks again.

"So, you think I'm cute?" I flirt. I instantly feel guilty as if I were cheating on someone.

"You know it, baby." He says as he caresses my arm with his hand that is still there. It makes me feel uncomfortable. I'm not sure why though. I just don't want anyone to see us. _You don't want Bellamy to see you._ My thoughts turn against me.

"So, about that tour; do you think we could start it now?" I ask while stepping away so that my arm is free from his wandering hand.

"Sure. Follow me." He holds out his arm and I know that he expects me to take it. I don't. He shrugs it off and leads me down the hall.

I see Bellamy down the hallway and instantly feel embarrassed. I don't want to pass by him. I think I'd be okay without ever speaking to him again.

"Finn…" Bellamy says his name in a way that makes it sound like a threat. I half expect him to add: you're next. But, I've probably just seen too many scary movies. It's not like this town could have anything dark or sinister.

"Bellamy." Finn nods his head and subtly steps farther away from him. When we've walked out of range from Bellamy I hear Finn mumble. "What a freak."

"What did you just say about him?" I ask surprised to hear something mean come out of Finn's mouth. I may not know him well but he seems decent.

"He's a freak; that guy. Don't tell anyone that I told you that, though." I'm once again surprised to see genuine fear in his eyes. "I'll give you some advice to live by: stay away from Bellamy Blake. He's dangerous."

"Okay, thanks." I say aloud while in my head I rejoice. Dangerous? That's exactly what I need right now. Well, I guess it's just what I want. What I need is someone who well never find out who I really am. Someone who is kind and boring. Someone like Finn.


	4. The Tour

"So this is your locker." Finn says after having taken me around the entire school, which surprise, surprise isn't very big. "It's right next to mine." He winks again.

"You really are insufferable." I playfully swat his arm. In the thirty minutes we've taken to walk around he's winked at least twenty times and he's been showering me with compliments. He definitely is a player. I need to be careful around him or I just might find myself caught up in his web.

"What can I say? I'm smitten." He leans against the locker and reaches out to play with a strand of my hair that has fallen out of my ponytail. I turn into his hand because I know that's what he expects and well, I'm weak.

"You know what? I think you were wrong earlier." I say as he pulls my hair out of the ponytail completely.

"Oh yeah?" He leans forward pushing me against the locker. He rests his left hand by my head on the locker behind us. "About what?"

I run my hand slowly up his chest to his shoulder. I whisper in a husky voice. "I think you're the one that's dangerous."

When he presses his body against mine I decide that I've played the game long enough. I sigh and push him back. He instantly steps away from me but not before sliding his hand down to meet mine.

"Yes, you are definitely dangerous." I laugh.

"Don't worry, K. I won't hurt you." He says in a raspy tone and squeezes my hand.

"How about you help me get my schedule." I say and start to walk towards the office. As I walk away I see Bellamy mopping the floor. My stomach starts to churn in the most horrible of ways. How can I be attracted to a guy that I don't even know? Why does it have to be the one who thinks I'm a creeper?

A girl with dark hair comes in and tosses him a bag. He smiles at her and I can tell that he's happy to see her. She says something that makes him laugh and I can't fight the jealousy that is growing inside of me. When he reaches out to tousle her hair I almost snap. Then I remember that we don't even know each other and take a soothing breath.

"Why did you stop?" Finn asks from down the hallway. I hadn't realized that I had stopped walking.

"Oh, nothing I just was trying to remember if I brought a pen. I think I forgot it." I lie easily while still keeping an eye on Bellamy. He hasn't seen us and I'm glad.

"You can borrow one of mine." Finn says as I start to walk again.

"Thanks." I smile at him trying and failing to keep the jealousy out of my mind.

"No problem. I've always wanted to be someone's knight in shining armor." He gives me a crooked grin.

"And that you are." I give his arm a squeeze and we grab my schedule from the office. Principal Jaha is just coming into the office as we are walking out.

"Ah, you must be Clarke. It's great to meet you. I'm so sorry that I was busy and couldn't meet with you earlier." He holds out his hand for me to shake.

Taking his hand I say, "It was fine, really. Finn was a great tour guide."

"Yes, Finn is one of our best students. You stay close to him and you'll do great in this school." He says and claps a hand on Finn's back.

"Thank you sir." He smiles up at the man and I see true respect. This is the real Finn, not the flirting one. And I actually like this one more.

"Now you two better get to your class. The bell is going to ring any second now." He finishes right before the bell chimes. I look in the hallway to see students filing inside.

"Cool." Finn says while reading my schedule over my shoulder. "We have all the same classes except for P.E. and art."

"Awesome." I smile. At least I'll have one friend to get me through the end of my senior year.

"First, is English and it's down there by our lockers." He says and wraps his arm around my shoulders and leads me to the classroom. I freeze when I look inside and see that there are only two empty seats and they're both next the brunette I saw with Bellamy.

"Hey Finn!" She waves him over and pats the seats on either side off her.

"Hey, O!" He calls back and ushers me to the seats. "How was your night? I didn't see you there."

He sits on her right side and I take the seat to her left.

"Yeah, Bell tried to get me to come but who wants to hang out with their brother all night?" She says.

"Brother?" I ask loud enough to make a couple people give me weird looks.

O, the girl turns to me. "Oh sorry, how rude of me. I'm Octavia." She leans forward and hugs me.

"Hi, I'm Clarke." I say into her hair as it falls into my face. She pulls back and flips her hair behind her ear.

"It's great to meet you. Bell told me there was a new girl." She must notice the confused look on my face because she soon adds, "Bellamy is my brother."

So he is her brother. I'm so relieved that I physically sink back against my chair.


	5. Pulling Teeth

"So, where are you from?" Octavia asks me as a woman walks into the room. I assume she's the teacher.

"Sorry, but I think I should pay attention. I'm already behind." I say and give her a soft smile.

"Oh, Mrs. P doesn't care if we talk. She hates teaching, especially English." Octavia says in a hushed tone.

I shrug my shoulders and look back up to the front of the classroom. To my utter surprise instead of Mrs. P taking role, going to the whiteboard, or even standing at the front of the class she walks to the back of the room and takes a seat at a computer. She must be putting up a power point or something. Yes, she's just getting it set up. _Then why is she sitting in the back of the room. There's a computer at her desk in the front. _Maybe it's not working. I argue with myself.

I glance at Octavia and she gives me an I-told-you-so look. Then she pulls out her phone and starts texting someone. Finn on her other side has his computer out and his watching a movie. The other kids in the class are doing the same things except for a couple who look like they're doing homework for other classes. I notice one boy with a pair of goggles on his head is actually lying on the ground as if getting ready for a nap. Sure enough within a couple minutes he's sound asleep.

I keep waiting for someone to pop out and say: gotcha! But it doesn't happen. I realize that this really is what happens during her class. It annoys me because I've been working my butt off since I started school and I will not let her ruin it all by being a lazy teacher. It's especially bad that we have an AP test we'll have to pass at the end of this year. I decide that I can't take this any longer. If they're teasing the new girl it's been long enough and if this is really what the class does every day then it's time we changed it.

"Mrs. P?" I ask after holding my hand up for a minute without her noticing.

"What?" She shouts back without looking at me.

"Is there a project we should be working on?" I ask and hear a couple students groan.

"Yeah, you're all working on an essay about the book we read last week." She flicks her hand at me with her eyes still on the screen of her computer. From where I am I can see that she's looking at houses.

"What book?" I ask, it's harder than pulling teeth and I've done that so I can say it.

_"__So, Marco, are you going to tell me where you hid the money?" I ask the boy who's tied to the metal chair in front of me. I say boy but he's at least two years older than my fifteen year old self. He's dripping wet from the water I've been dunking him in. He spits at me and it lands on my cheek. I use the back of my hand to wipe it off. _

_"__Wrong answer Marco." I laugh and grab the rusty pliers from behind me. _

_He is smart enough to actually look scared when I walk closer to him and grab his hair to yank his head back. I use my other hand that has the pliers in it to tap on his cheek. _

_"__Now Marco, would you rather me take from the left side or the right side?" I tap his left cheek and then right one in turn to emphasize my threat. It's just like my mom does it and I know she's behind the double sided mirror watching. I want her to be proud of me like she is of my brother. _

_"__I'll never talk!" He hisses as I nip his bottom lip with the pliers making it bleed._

_"__That's what they all say, but soon my friend you'll talk." I laugh when he hisses again as I pinch his top lip. My mom taught me to do this so that when you're pulling their tooth their lips will hurt enough to keep them open better. Of course I think my mom actually enjoys doing this while I do it because I have to. It helps that I've always hated Marco._

_"__You have one last chance before I start." I say as I slide the pliers over his bleeding lips._

_"__Alright, I think I'll just surprise you." I pinch his cheeks to force his mouth open enough to maneuver the pliers into his mouth. I push his tongue back with them and then grab hold of a back molar on the right side of his mouth. I tug and it stays still. He screams which I'm thankful for because it gives me more space. I yank again and wiggle. It starts to move and I feel a pressure build in him as he tries to clench his jaw. His eyes are watering from the pain. Then I hear a popping sound and he lets out a harsh scream. _

_He lets out a stream of cuss words as he holds his jaw to his shoulder. _

"Clarke? She's talking to you." Octavia taps my shoulder pulling me out of my memories.

"Right, thanks." I smile.

"Who are you?" Mrs. P is standing in front of my desk.

"I'm Clarke Connolly. I just moved here." I say and hold my hand out to shake hers.

She ignores my hand and gives me a harsh look. "What do you mean you just moved here? No one moves here."

There are a couple nods of agreement from the class.

"Well my mom and I did." I say getting even more irritated. If I had my pliers here I know who I'd be torturing.

"Watch your tone, young lady. Now class, get out the book we read last week. I want a 1000 word essay on it before you leave."

There is a groan from the whole group. Then the bell rings so everyone lets out a sigh of relief and rushes to the door.

"I expect that essay on my desk Monday morning!" She yells after them and then looks back to me. "And you, I want an extra essay on respecting your elders."

"Would you like it typed or hand written?" I ask to throw her off. I know she was expecting me to fight her on it, but really I love writing.

"Um…" She gives me a confused look. "Typed."

"Okay, see you Monday. Have a great weekend." I say walking to the door and then turn around to look at her again. "Oh and I expect you to actually have a lesson prepared for Monday."

"Wow! That was amazing." Octavia leaps on me wrapping her arms around me. "It's official we have to be friends."


	6. Self-Defense

I'm grateful that Octavia ends up being in most of my classes and that all of the other teachers are intelligent. They have lessons prepared and have us do work. They even introduce me even though it seems everyone already knows who I am, well who I'm pretending to be. I have noticed that being around Octavia keeps a lot of people away and I'm not sure why. I think it might have to do with her brother. She's much too sweet to merit such disdain and fear.

The only class we don't have together is going to be Art which I have last. She has a computer class instead. She told me that she takes it only because I she is trying to learn how to hack. Apparently two of the guys in the class are so good at hacking that they can get into NASA and even the Pentagon. I don't believe they could be that good without someone high up knowing about it. And if someone knew about them they wouldn't still be here.

I follow Octavia to the gym because we have P.E. She's been telling me about the teacher. He was a student two years ago, but when the old P.E. teacher retired he got the job even without going to school. I bet they can get away with it by putting him in as a long term substitute.

"So anyway you are in for a treat. Atom is delicious looking." Octavia says still talking about the _dreamy _teacher. She's had a crush on him since they were ten, but with him being Bell's best friend she couldn't really date him.

"I can't wait." I say giving her a smile.

"Do you have your P.E. clothes with you?" Octavia asks me when we get inside the locker room. Even here people give us a wide berth. She definitely is the person I need to stay close to because that means I won't have too many people trying to get close to me.

"No. I didn't know my schedule until this morning." I say as I put in the lock combination that I got for my gym locker.

"Well, you're in luck because I brought an extra set. I usually leave them over the weekend because I tend to forget everything on Monday." She holds out a set of pink sweats and a black tank top.

"Are we allowed to wear tank tops?" I ask knowing that at my old school we had a uniform to wear. But even on days that we didn't have to wear the uniform we couldn't wear tank tops.

"Yeah, they don't care. I guess it does have to be a certain width, but this one is fine." She says while ripping of her clothes.

"Okay. Thanks." I follow suit and get changed. We leave the locker room and get to the gym behind the crowd of kids who are clearly going to be in our class.

"Clarke?"

I turn around to see who has said my name. When I look in front of the crowd I see Bellamy standing in the middle of the gym. He looks embarrassed and I know that he's the one who said my name.

"Yes, she's new. Clarke this is my brother, Bellamy, the one I was telling you about. Where's Atom?" Octavia asks and tries to hide the blush on her cheeks.

"I told you to stay away from him, O." Bellamy scolds her, in a way that only brothers can and then looks to the students who are all looking to him for directions. Most of them look terrified. That just proves my earlier thoughts. He is the reason that people stay away from Octavia. I really should stay away from him too. But, O was right; sure she was talking about someone else but the gym teacher today is delicious. I just want to kiss that smirk off his face. I know that if he can look this good while sneering he must look amazing when he smiles.

"Run five laps and then get in a big circle!" He yells pulling me out of my thoughts.

"Okay, we're going to be learning some basic self-defense moves. Who here knows some? I need a volunteer." He asks the crowd and it strikes me as odd that almost everyone is raising a hand. I keep my hand down knowing that it will be hard to hide that I know how to fight and clearly there are enough girls who want to have his arms around them.

_Wait. Am I jealous? _Crap, pull it together. I take a step back hoping to hide behind all of the waving girls.

"How about the new girl." He says and I hear a joint groan of disappointment radiate through the gym.

I decide it's better to just go along because if I fight it that would bring more attention. I slowly makes my way to the center of the circle and meet his dark gaze.

"Don't worry, Princess. I won't hurt you." He whispers so only I can hear him.

"You're the one who should be worried." I match his quiet tone and give him my most flirty smile. _Stop, you shouldn't be flirting with him. Remember? We're staying away from him. I know I should, but my head is going to lose this fight._

He laughs and I get my answer he is even better looking with a smile on his face. "Okay, so I'm going to try and grab her from behind." He reaches around me and a warmth fills me as his arms tighten.

"If someone is holding you like thi-" He is saying.

I cut him off by flipping him over my shoulder and laugh. I know I shouldn't have done it but I love seeing the blush creep across his freckled cheeks. Octavia's laugh echoes through the gym. I raise an eyebrow at him and hold out my hand to help him up.

"So, I take it you know a little." He says, smiling again.

"You have no idea." I wink and make a circle on the back of his hand with my thumb. I know I've got him hooked when I see how huge his eyes get. Yep. I'm in trouble.


	7. The Gate

"How did you do that?" Octavia asks with wonder in her eyes as she leads the way into the locker room. I try to focus on her and ignore all of the scoffs and sneers from the other girls. I'm positive they're still pissed because I spent the whole class period practicing on Bellamy. Well, mostly kicking his butt.

"I simply flipped him over me. It's in the knees." I flip open my locker and start to change.

"No. I know _that." _She rolls her eyes. "I meant how did _you_ flip _Bell."_

I laugh. "Oh that. Yeah, I do love the shock factor when I, the weak blonde, can beat the mighty man."

"Seriously! It was even better than what you did in English. Who are you?" Her question makes me pause. She's right. I've been acting too much like myself. I need to fake it. Remember who you are, but don't show it. If I let anyone see who I am then they could find me or I'll be in prison.

"I'm nobody. Really. It was just a trick I learned from my brother. That's about the only cool thing I can do." I shrug my shoulders and look down.

"I doubt that."

We're leaving the locker room just as the bell rings meaning that it's lunch time. From the looks I'm getting from the kids in the hallway I can tell that they aren't going to be welcoming me to sit with them. I'm relieved because I know the more distance I put between myself and them the better, but it still hurts. At least I have Octavia.

I turn to ask her where she sits to see that she's already halfway down the hall towards the exit. _Great. The one friend that I thought I had is gone too._ I shake my head at how stupid I was and head towards the cafeteria.

"Clarke! Where are you going?" Octavia's call has me turning around.

"To eat." I give her a bitter look.

"No, come on. It's my birthday. We're going to have lunch at my place." She waves her hand to get me to come to her.

I hesitate. I know that we aren't allowed to leave the school during hours and if I get caught then I'm out. I remember what the fed said. _You have one shot. If you screw up; if you so much as jaywalk I'll lock you up. _

"Come on, please." Octavia holds her hands together in a pleading motion. Her sad eyes make it impossible to say no.

"Okay, I'm in. But if we get caught I'll say you kidnapped me." I laugh as she hugs me.

"Deal. You're the best. It's great with Bell, but it'll be so fun to have someone else there too for a change."

"Bellamy will be there?" I ask with a smile before I can stop myself.

"If I had known you'd be so excited I would've have said that in the first place." She bumps me with her hip. "Anyway, I'll meet you there. I've got to do something real quick. Go to the side gate, but wait three minutes before going. Raven will be there. If you get there before Bell and me just head to our treehouse."

"Okay. Where is the treehouse?" I ask after she points out the gate. I see a brunette standing by it talking on her phone.

She tells me the directions which hopefully I won't have to follow because I'm not sure if I'll be able to tell a tree that looks like the cookie maker's tree from a normal tree. And if I miss the left turn at it apparently I'll end up at some butcher's house.

"Hey, Raven?" I ask the girl as I get to the gate.

"What's it to you?" She asks smacking in her gum.

"Octavia told me to come. She invited me to her birthday lunch. She's supposed to be her." I say looking around.

"She's never on time. Don't worry. You must be Clarke. It's nice to meet you. Go on through and make sure you're back in time or I won't let you back in." She moves so I can get out. I thank her and step through.

"You can't wait there." She says as I'm standing just on the other side of the gate.

"Yeah, Octavia told me to go to the tree house, but her directions were confusing." I admit.

"She tried to give you directions?" She laughs. "That girl. She will never learn. Just head North and then after 30 paces take a left. After that it's a straight shot."

"Thanks."

"No worries. Just go." Her expression becomes serious.

I make it to the treehouse without any trouble. Octavia was right even. The tree did resemble the one in the commercials. I look at the tree house and am impressed. I can tell that it's homemade but not in a bad way. It looks well loved. There are curtains and it's painted. I walk around the whole thing to see that it even has two ladders. There are shingles on the roof and I imagine they have spent many nights up there.

"Hey new girl. What are you doing here?" A guy calls down to me making me jump.

"Oh sorry, did I scare you?" He adds.

"No, I'm fine. I'm just waiting for Octavia." I yell back.

"Do you want to see inside?"

"Sure." I go up the ladder and when I stand up the guy steps into my space. I can tell he's purposefully trying to mess with me.

"I'm Murphy by the way."

"Clarke."

"Do you like guns?" He asks and gives me a sick smile. I can tell that he is true danger and he definitely likes guns. It hits me that I really shouldn't be alone with this guy. I'm glad that I didn't listen to my mom. I can feel the edge of my blade against my ankle and take a calming breath. He wraps his arm around me and leads me inside before I can even attempt to get away.


	8. The Fort

"So what do you think of my collection?" Murphy asks with a sick smile.

"It's pretty impressive. Of course, I prefer knives." I shrug giving him an air of nonchalance. When you are around people like Murphy you have to keep your emotions hidden. They like to feed off of them by hurting and scaring you.

He grabs a pistol and pops the clip out so that I can see it is full. Then he snaps it back in and cocks the gun. He points it towards me, keeping it just barely from being aimed at me.

"I prefer guns. I love the sound of bullets sinking into flesh." He laughs and a chill runs up my spine causing the hairs on my neck to stand up. I stay quiet, but look him right in the eye without looking away so he won't think I'm scared.

"Bellamy and I go hunting a lot. You should come sometime. I'll teach you how to use one of these." He steps closer to me so that I am backed up to the wall of the fort. I hold my ground though by standing up tall.

"I never said I couldn't handle the gun. I just said I prefer knives." I whisper to him in the dark tone that I use whenever I'm in a situation like this. If the person I'm using it on is smart they'll know that I'm threatening them, but Murphy doesn't seem all that smart because he just laughs.

"Oh baby, I don't think you could handle _this_ gun." He says and I know that he doesn't mean the one in his hand.

_"__Seriously?"_ I ask myself. "_Why are they all the same?"_

I snatch the gun from his hand before he can even blink. I release the clip letting it fall before catching it with my other hand. Then I snap it back into place, cock the gun, and hold it to his temple.

"Believe me. I know how to use it, but when it comes to you. I think I'd rather do a little slicing and dicing." I look down so he knows what part of him I'm talking about. He gulps and scoots back before the glare comes back to his face. "Now that we're clear I'm going to wait for Bellamy and Octavia on the ground."

I put the safety on and toss the gun to the corner of the fort. Then I turn my back to him showing that I don't see him as a threat whatsoever and go down the ladder. I'm just standing there looking up when I hear someone running up behind me. I turn around and the sun blinds me so I hold my hand up to block it. I see that it's Bellamy and a sense of relief washes over me.

"That is one impressive armory you have up there." I say pointing to the fort.

"Thanks. I like to _hunt." _ He says it almost like he's asking me if he likes to hunt. I know that theirs is obviously more to it but I also know that he isn't ready to tell me. I can understand the feeling seeing how I have plenty of secrets that I'm keeping myself.

"Yeah, Murphy was telling me about it." I say to make him feel like I believe him. He gets a look of fear mixed with anger.

"Murphy? He's up there?" He asks in a low voice.

"Yeah, and to be honest he kind of gives me the creeps, which is why I'm waiting down here." I say giving him a look that I hope lets him believe I feel bad for what I'm saying.

"It's not just you." He smiles and then looks over to where Octavia is. "I have to tell Murphy something. I'll be down in a sec. Wait here."

"Sure thing, bro. Just hurry." Octavia taps the watch on her arm.

"Sorry it took us so long." Octavia says after he goes up.

"No problem. I haven't been waiting long. Thanks for letting me come." I tell her.

"Hey, it's my birthday. You know how boring it can be to just celebrate it with your brother? Plus, I think you two will have fun being my slaves for the hour." She winks to let me know that she's teasing me; about which part I'm not sure.

I am about to ask her when I hear Bellamy coming down the ladder.

"Finally, you took forever." Octavia smacks his arm and he sticks his tongue out at her. He looks like a silly boy rather than the tough man I've seen him as. He is adorable.

We hurry to the house because we have less than forty minutes before we have to be back at school. Bellamy leads the way and Octavia hooks her arm with mine. Once we get inside Bellamy smiles at Octavia and I can see just how much he loves her. _I wish he felt about me like that._ Where did that thought come from? _You barely know him._

"All right O, you know the drill. Go sit down and get ready to be pampered." He says as he walks to the kitchen.

"Yes! My birthday is the best!" She squeals and does a happy dance before sitting down on the couch.

"What can I do to help?" I ask Bellamy as I follow him to the kitchen. I don't know why but I really don't want to give up this time with him.

"Are you okay with using a knife? Would you like to cut fruit?" He asks and I have to bite my tongue to keep from telling him just how good I am with one. _If you only knew._

I can't hold back a laugh and finally nod my head. "Yes, I think I can manage. Where are they?"

"In the cup by the stove. They're pretty sharp so be careful."

"I know how to cut fruit Bellamy."

He turns away from me and starts pulling things out of the fridge. I assume we need them for the lunch. It looks like grilled cheese and tomato soup with a fruit salad. I already miss having his attention on me. There's a sinking feeling in my stomach when I realize that I'm jealous of cheese and bread. I can't help it. I let out a little cough so he'll look at me.

"Actually, will you help me with this first cut?" I flutter my eyelashes at him.


End file.
